Stand-up bag

ABSTRACT

In a flat-ended bag made of a flexible film material, two bag wall parts are connected via two longitudinal seams running substantially in a longitudinal direction (z) to form a bag wall that forms a tubular body and has sealing edge strips projecting from the bag wall. The tubular body is closed at both ends, at least one end of the tubular body has a base part disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (z) and serving as a standing surface, and a resealable opening is provided on at least one end of the tubular body. In order to increase the rigidity of the tubular body, the sealing edge strips are folded over onto the bag wall and sealed or glued to the bag wall.

The invention relates to a stand-up bag made of a flexible film material, in which stand-up bag two bag wall parts are connected by two longitudinal seams extending substantially in a longitudinal direction to form a bag wall forming a tubular body, with sealing edge strips projecting from the bag wall, the tubular body being closed at the two ends, at least one end of the tubular body having a base part arranged substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and serving as a standing face, and a reclosable opening being provided at at least one end of the tubular body.

In order, for example, to store mayonnaise or ketchup in the refrigerator, plastics material bottles which can easily be deformed by hand pressure, so-called squeeze bottles, are often used. These bottles are generally stored standing on their head, so the product always flows toward the discharge opening, following gravity. A valve is generally attached to the opening mouth, so a metered removal of filling product is only possible by means of a pressure applied by hand by way of the bottle. Such packagings have proven successful in the past above all for ketchup, mayonnaise and other partially solid products, but are relatively expensive because of their solid form of construction.

Stand-up bags for pourable products, such as, for example, coffee powder, made of a flexible film material with a flat base or an enveloped base as the standing face, and a reclosable opening in the form of a zipper opposing the standing face, are also known. A substantial drawback of these stand-up bags is their low degree of rigidity, whereby the bag often no longer stands upright after removal of the filling product or has no standing ability at all.

A bag tube made a film material with an outlet nozzle, which can be closed by means of a folding lid, is known from EP 0 966 390 B1. The tube which is provided for storage on its head has two bag wall parts, which are connected by two longitudinal seams extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube to form a bag wall forming a tubular body, with sealing edge strips projecting from the bag wall. This bag tube also has relatively low rigidity and leads to a reduced standing ability with progressive removal of the filling product.

It is known from WO 2008/013275 A to insert a flat bag produced from two bag wall parts, which are made of a thermoplastics material and sealed to one another peripherally at the edges, with a sealed-in base and closure part, into a tubular metal form and to expand it by blowing in hot air through the closure part until the bag wall parts rest on the inner wall of the metal form and a stand-up bag is produced. The longitudinal seams which are initially projecting laterally from the bag wall as sealing edge strips are in the process folded onto the bag wall by the pressure exerted by the metal form. A sealing or gluing of the sealing edge strips, which have been folded over onto the bag wall, onto the bag wall does not take place during the forming and is also not provided.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a stand-up bag of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that a tubular body has good rigidity even with a relatively thin film material and the bag retains good standing ability during use.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that the sealing edge strips increase the rigidity of the tubular body.

The side of the flexible film material forming the inside of the bag wall can be sealable and the sealing edge strips folded onto the bag wall and/or the regions covered by the folded-on sealing edge strips can be provided with a sealable coating or with an adhesive coating. However, the two sides of the flexible film material are preferably sealable.

In a first embodiment of a stand-up bag, a standing face is formed by a closure part, which is attached to one end of the tubular body, with a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid, which can reclose the outlet opening. The closure lid can be screwed onto the flange or be configured as a folding lid preferably articulated to the flange.

The other end of the tubular body may be closed by means of a transverse seam. To increase the bag volume, a base part can also be sealed in or an enveloped folding base may be provided.

In a second embodiment of a stand-up bag, the standing face is formed by a flat base which is produced at one end of the tubular body by folding and sealing the film material or by a sealed-in base part. The other end of the tubular body may be provided with a closure part with a reclosable outlet opening. The closure part may be formed by a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid, which can reclose the outlet opening, or a zipper closure.

A closure part with a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid, which can reclose the outlet opening, may also be arranged in the flat base or in the sealed-in base part, it being possible to screw the closure lid onto the flange or for it to be formed as a folding lid preferably articulated to the flange.

The stand-up bag according to the invention is suitable, in particular, for packaging pasty, creamy, partly solid/partly liquid, liquid and pourable filling products, in particular food.

Substantially all known flexible packaging materials may be used as the flexible film material. The packaging materials should be suitable for machine use, i.e. suitable for use on packaging machines. The flexible film material may basically have a single layer, but is multi-layer in most cases. The individual material layers may be applications of varnish, foils made of metals, metallised layers or films made of plastics materials, in particular thermoplastic plastics materials or composites made of metal foils and plastics material films. One or more material layers may be extruded layers or films made of thermoplastic plastics materials, optionally in the composite with films/foils made of metals or plastics materials. At least one material layer may be an application of varnish, such as a clear varnish, a coloured varnish, a hot metal coating etc. At least one material layer may be a metallised layer or a vacuum-deposited, ceramic thin layer.

Adhesives, extrusion adhesives, adhesion promoters and/or primers may be located between the individual layers. To increase the adhesion of the layers to one another, the surfaces of the metal layers may be subjected, for example, to a corona flame, ozone or plasma treatment.

The material layers which are made of thermoplastic plastics materials, may be transparent, translucent or opaque. For example, the material layer, film or coating on the outside of the packaging may have printing. In the case of a transparent or translucent outer material layer, film or coating, a reverse printing or an exterior printing and a reverse printing may be applied.

Steel foils and preferably aluminium foils are used, for example, as foils made of metal. The thickness of the foils may, for example, be 5 to 100 μm, preferably 8 to 30 μm.

Suitable films which are made of plastics materials are expediently made of thermoplastic plastics materials, such as polyester, polyolefins, such as polypropylenes or polyethylenes, polyamides, polyvinylchloride, polycarbonate etc or of cellulose-containing materials, such as cellophane. The films which are made of plastics material may be present as monofilms or film composites. The thickness of the films which are made of plastics materials may, for example, be 8 to 100 μm, preferably 12 to 30 μm and, in particular, 12 to 23 μm.

Extruded layers may, for example, be made of polyolefins, such as polypropylenes or polyethylenes. The thickness of the extrusion layers may, for example, be 8 to 100 μm, preferably 12 to 30 μm and, in particular, 12 to 23 μm.

The side of the film material which is on the inside of the packaging is preferably sealable. The outer side of the composite material is expediently also sealable.

Examples of a flexible film material are composites made of at least two material layers. A first material layer may be a film, such as a monofilm or composite film, made of thermoplastic plastics materials, such as polyester, polyolefins, such as polypropylenes or polyethylenes, polyamides, polyvinylchloride, polycarbonate etc., or made of cellulose-containing materials, such as cellophane or papers. The film may be printed on the side pointing outwardly on the finished packaging and/or be reverse-printed and is preferably provided with a sealable layer, such as, for example, a sealing varnish. The second material layer may, for example, be a metal foil or a metal foil with a sealing layer or a sealable foil attached on the side pointing inwardly on the finished packaging. The second material layer may, in another embodiment, be a sealable film made of a thermoplastic plastics material or an extrusion layer made of a thermoplastic plastics material, which is preferably sealable. Optionally, papers, for example coated papers may also be used as the second material layer. Optionally, varnish layers or varnish applications can also be used as the second material layer. The varnishes may be clear, opaque and colourless or coloured. In accordance with the product to be packaged, the composite material may have barrier properties against the passage of liquids, gases, vapours, steam, flavours or odorous materials. To achieve barrier properties, metal foils, metallised layers, for example made of aluminium, ceramic thin layers, for example made of silicon oxides and/or aluminium oxide, which are applied by sputtering or by vacuum deposition, or plastics materials, for example, made of materials from the series of styrene copolymers, ethyl-vinyl-alcohol polymers or polyvinylidene chloride may be used. Examples of sealable materials for the films or extrudates are polyolefins, such as polyethylenes, polypropylenes or co- and terpolymers of ethylene with acrylic acid. The sealability of the film material can also be achieved by an application of a sealing varnish.

The stand-up bags are generally smoothed out, after removal of the product, against the standing face. It is also conceivable for the bag to be rolled up from its end. For the latter case, the selection of a film material with dead-fold properties is advantageous.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description of preferred embodiments and with the aid of the drawings, which are only used for illustration and are not to be understood in a restrictive manner. In the drawings, schematically,

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of a stand-up bag with a folding lid;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a second embodiment of a stand-up bag with a sealed-in base part and zipper closure;

FIG. 3 shows a section through the stand-up bag of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 along the line I-I;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of FIG. 3 in an enlarged view.

A stand-up bag 10 shown in FIG. 1 in tube form has a tubular body 12 which is permanently closed on one end by a transverse seam 14. A flange part 16 with a removal opening, which can be closed by means of a folding lid 18, is arranged at the other end of the tubular body.

The tubular body 12 consists of two bag wall parts 20, 22, which are connected by two longitudinal seams extending substantially in a longitudinal direction z of the tubular body 12 to form a bag wall. The longitudinal seams projecting outwardly from the bag wall and present in the form of sealing edge strips 24, 26 are folded over onto the bag wall and rigidly connected thereto (FIGS. 3 and 4). The folding lid 18 is used as a standing face and is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction z of the tubular body 12.

Instead of the transverse seam 14, the tubular body 12 can also be closed to increase the bag volume, with a sealed-in base part 17 shown in FIG. 2 or with an enveloped flat base.

A conventional stand-up bag 110 shown in FIG. 2 in the form of a Doy Pack also has a tubular body 12 made of two bag walls parts 20, 22 connected by two longitudinal seams extending substantially in a longitudinal direction z to form a bag wall. At one end of the tubular body 12, a base part 17 serving as a standing face is sealed in. At its other end, the tubular body 12 is rigidly sealed by a separable transverse seam 14. A zipper closure 19 is sealed in between the bag wall parts 20, 22 below the separable transverse seam 14. The longitudinal seams projecting outwardly from the bag wall and present in the form of sealing edge strips 24, 26 are also folded over onto the bag wall here and rigidly connected thereto (FIGS. 3 and 4).

The stand-up bag 110 shown in FIG. 2 may also have an enveloped base part 17. Likewise, the base part 17 of the stand-up bag 110 may be equipped with a closure system with a folding lid 18.

As can be seen in FIG. 4 in particular, the sealing edge strip 26 which is folded over onto the bag wall or onto the bag wall part 22 is permanently connected to the bag wall by an adhesive or sealing compound 28. This adhesive or sealing compound 28 may, for example, be applied locally to the film material at predetermined points by the register printing method before the bag production. No additional application of sealing compound in the region of the sealing edge strips 24, 26 is necessary in a film material with a sealable inner and outer layer arranged on both sides. 

1. A stand-up bag made of a flexible film material, in which two bag wall parts are connected by two longitudinal seams extending substantially in a longitudinal direction (z) to form a bag wall forming a tubular body, with sealing edge strips projecting from the bag wall, the tubular body being closed at the two ends, at least one end of the tubular body having a base part arranged substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (z) and serving as a standing face and a reclosable opening being provided at at least one end of the tubular body, wherein the sealing edge strips are folded over onto the bag wall to increase the rigidity of the tubular body and are sealed or glued to the bag wall.
 2. A stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the two sides of the flexible film material are sealable.
 3. A stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the side of the flexible film material forming the inside of the bag wall is sealable and the sealing edge strips which are folded over onto the bag wall and/or the regions covered by the folded-over sealing edge strips are provided with a sealable coating or with an adhesive coating.
 4. A stand-up bag according to claim 1, wherein the standing face is formed by a closure part attached to one end of the tubular body, with a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid which can reclose the outlet opening.
 5. A stand-up bag according to claim 4, wherein the closure lid can be screwed onto the flange or is configured as a folding lid.
 6. A stand- bag according to claim 4, wherein the other end of the tubular body is closed by means of a transverse seam.
 7. A stand-up bag according to claim 4, wherein a base part is sealed in at the other end of the tubular body to increase the bag volume or an enveloped folding base is provided.
 8. A stand up bag according to claim 1, wherein the standing face is formed by a flat base which is produced at one end of the tubular body by folding and sealing the film material or by a sealed-in base part.
 9. A stand-up bag according to claim 8, wherein the other end of the tubular body is provided with a closure part with a reclosable outlet opening.
 10. A stand-up bag according to claim 9, wherein the closure part is formed by a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid, which can reclose the outlet opening, or by a zipper closure.
 11. A stand up bag according to claim 8, a closure part with a flange having an outlet opening and a closure lid, which can reclose the outlet opening, is arranged in the flat base or in the sealed-in base part.
 12. A stand-up bag according to claim 11, wherein the closure lid can be screwed into the flange or is configured as a folding lid.
 13. A method for packaging a pasty, creamy, partly solid/partly liquid, liquid or pourable product, wherein the method comprises packaging the product in a stand-up bag according to claim
 1. 14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the product is a food.
 15. A stand-up bag according to claim 5, wherein the folding lid is articulated to the flange.
 16. A stand-up bag according to claim 12, wherein the folding lid is articulated to the flange. 